


The Hero of Hyrule

by zora_champion_mipha



Category: Legend of Zelda
Genre: F/M, Short Story
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2021-03-04
Updated: 2021-03-04
Packaged: 2021-03-17 21:27:16
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,942
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/29847732
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/zora_champion_mipha/pseuds/zora_champion_mipha
Summary: Charlie is a normal highschooler in Hyrule, when calmity breaks out.
Relationships: Link & OC





	The Hero of Hyrule

I started a normal highschooler: eighteen, making friends, doing my work, doing theater, the usual. That all changed when the beast unknown attacked the castle.

I was sitting at home, doing my homework while my parents made dinner, when the mail slipped through the slot.

“Mail’s here!” I called, as I grabbed it. “It’s from...the Princess?” I questioned as I read the address from whence it came.

“Really? What does it say, Charlie?” my mom called from the kitchen.

“It says, ‘A beast has attacked the castle. I have no idea what it is, but we need more than just our army. Anyone who resides within Castle Town that knows how to fight is invited to come fight at the castle. We need all the help we can get. I will see everyone who wants to fight outside the castle in four weeks’ time. Sincerely, Princess Zelda.’ I wonder if everyone in Castle Town got this letter?”

“Probably. Unfortunately, there’s nothing we can do, Charlie. Don’t worry, I’m sure the Princess will find who she needs and will take care of it,” my dad answered.

I tried to go back to my homework, but struggled to focus. My mind was too preoccupied with thoughts of what could happen if the Princess didn’t ever get enough people. Man, being a teen was confusing. What was left of childhood innocence begged me to ignore this letter; to forget about it. The courageous adult spirit told me to fight for my kingdom; to be brave and prove myself. It was just overwhelming.

“Mom? Can I go to Link’s house?”

“What for?”

“So we can do our homework together!”

“Sure! Be home by dark!”

“Okay! Love you mom!”

“Love you too, Charlie!”

I ran down the road, and knocked on Link’s family’s door. Link was two years older than me, and had joined the army as soon as he graduated. He had told me it was necessary. Why? I had no idea.

Link opened the door and gave me a silent hug. 

“Hey Link! Still silent as ever, huh?” Link was mute. Might’ve forgotten to mention that.

He gave me a nod, and we headed into his living room and sat on the couch that was as green as the bushes outside.

“Hey Charlie! It’s been quite sometime since you last came over! Would you like some milk?”

“No, thank you, Rayla.” Rayla was Link’s mom. I came over so much that we got on a first-name basis. “Link, do you still have your dad’s sword? This letter from the castle is worrying me.”

He nodded, and we went to the basement to get it. We also grabbed some leather practice armor, and headed outside. We took the sword out of its leather casing and sheath, and saw its beautiful wooden handle, golden guard, and sharp blade. I held it, and felt powerful; like I could defeat this beast. (I knew inside me that I couldn’t, however.) Link had his own sword by now, so he showed me how to charge, overhead strike, as well as many other sword fighting moves on the dummy outside. He showed me each one, and helped me practice until I got it right. He never got angry or upset when I couldn’t do it, and I will forever appreciate it.

We trained for hours, and when the sun went down, I took off the armor and resheathed the sword. I tried to hand them back to Link, but he shook his head and put them back in my hands. 

“I can keep them?” I asked.

He nodded.

“Thank you, Link. I should get going.”

Three weeks passed, and I trained daily. Sometimes with Link, sometimes alone. After one week, Link upgraded me to chainmail armor, and then to the kingdom’s traditional warrior armor at week two. At the end of week three, Link got on his knee and bestowed upon me the sword of the kingdom’s highest warriors. One that he himself fought with as part of the kingdom’s army.

“Link! I can’t accept this!”

He pushed it further into my hands, and gave me a nod that seemed to say,  _ Take it. You’ve earned it.  _ I took it. The deadline for showing up was in a mere three days, and I was scared. I trained more and more, and, the day before the deadline, Link gave me a letter that was addressed to the Princess.

“Should I give it to her tomorrow?”

He nodded.

Finally, the day arrived. My parents didn’t know I was here. They’d never have let me go had I told them. They thought I was at theater club. I managed to pass off owning the sword and armor as props for theater. I took a deep breath, and walked up to the castle, my armor jingling as I did. I looked so brave, so  _ strong _ in this armor. I had brown boots, white pants, a blue tunic with a white undershirt, and brown fingerless gloves, all with a layer of chainmail underneath. I had a hat that matched the blue of my tunic, and it flopped behind me. My sword was sheathed and strapped to my back, with a shield overtop. Link ran up behind me, in an outfit almost identical to mine, except in green. He had a sword that I had never seen him use before, which had a purple handle with wings. He walked up behind me, and when I tried to turn around, he turned me back around so I was facing away from him. I felt him grab my hair, which reached to the middle of my back, and then I felt a slice go through my hair, one characteristic of a sword. 

“What was that for??” I yelled when I turned around feeling the back of my head where he cut. He remained silent, as always. “Right, you’re mute. Well, whatever the reason, at least I hope I look good.”

We walked up to join the others. I stood with the provisional soldiers, and Link stood with the established soldiers. He gave me a thumbs up. I smiled. 

When Princess Zelda walked out, everyone got on one knee and bowed.

“Thank you all for coming to work with our soldiers. This beast is unlike any other listed in any book in the castle. At ease, soldiers,” Zelda said, and we all stood up. “It is time to line up, and tell me your name and age.” 

We lined up, and I was first.

“What is your name and age?”

“I am Charlie, age eighteen. I was told to give this to you.” I handed her Link’s letter.

“Oh! A letter from my appointed knight himself! And it is one of endorsement! You have a fine trainer, Charlie. You may go pick an established soldier to work with for the time being,” Zelda said. I went straight to Link, and high-fived him. 

“Princess’s appointed knight, huh?” I whispered to him. He smiled.

We waited as Princess Zelda went through the other fifty-some soldiers.

“Go, all of you! Provisional soldiers, stick by your trainer!” Zelda said. 

We ran inside the castle, and were immediately confronted by the beast. Zelda was right; I had done a lot of studying on the beasts of this kingdom, and had never seen one such as this. It looked like… a mass of gas. It had discernible eyes, but that was all. Archers were in back, firing volleys of arrows at its eyes, but it seemed to have no effect upon this beast. Link nodded at me, and I went in for a charge. Again,  _ nothing _ . We were baffled, and tried everything we could. We couldn’t find anything that worked.

It went into an attack shortly after, and it targeted Link. Everyone in the front, (where me and Link were) put our shields in front of our faces. The beast seemed uninterested in any of us but Link. It formed a limb out of itself, and grabbed Link by the throat. All we could do was watch, as the Princess’s appointed knight got strangled by a mass of gas. Link was gasping for breath, and we thought the beast was gonna kill him. I tried to attack it again, but all that seemed to do was cause him to hold Link tighter. The beast made a motion behind it, and a flurry of other beasts with bows showed up. They fired arrow after arrow at Link, most missing him. One arrow hit him in the head, and Link finally passed out. The beast dropped him. I ran over to him, and held my shield in front of us so we would be okay if it attacked again. I put my fingers to his wrist to check for a pulse, and what was there was weak and slow. He was dying. His head was bleeding profusely, but I had no bandages or anything to try and stop it. I was powerless. 

He motioned behind him, so subtly you would have to be focusing on him to see it. I grabbed his sword, which started to glow blue. Link gave a faint nod, as if to say,  _ Do it. Attack it. _

“I can’t do it, Link! I’m not as strong as you!” I told him. He made no moves this time. I was on my own. I stood up, and turned to face the beast. I put a false determined look on my face. I still didn’t believe I could do it. I looked back at Link, and adrenaline took over. I started running, full speed, blade out, into the beast. I gave a war cry. “HYAAAAAA!!” The blade landed right in the middle of where its chest should be. The beast was surprised by this. I fought to pull the blade out and stab it once more.

“Hurry, guys! I can’t keep doing this by myself!” I shouted at the rest of the soldiers.

A loud “HYAAAAAA!!” escaped the mass, as all the swordsmen and women rushed forward and stabbed the beast over and over again. The beast seemed to call its minions forth once more, and they started firing volleys at us. The archers seemed to take over the minions, while we fought the beast himself.

There were side slashes, spin attacks, and many other attacks being rained upon the beast. The deafening clanging of swords, the  _ splorch _ sound the blades made upon entrance to the beast, the  _ thwack _ of the bow strings when arrows were fired… It was a wonder anyone in the kingdom was oblivious to this.

After what felt like hours, with many archers and swordsmen alike lying on the floor, the beast expanded a bit, as if it were going to blow.

“LOOK OUT! IT’S GONNA BLOW!!!” I shouted over the noise. Shields were going up quickly, and I ran over to Link to defend him too, assuming he was still alive. The beast did in fact blow up, and splattered whatever it was made of onto our shields. Thankfully, it didn’t hit anyone. Who knows what could have happened if it did.

“Link! Link! Please don’t be dead,  _ please don’t be dead! _ ” I pleaded. I checked for a pulse, and there was still a weak one, thank the Goddesses.

“We did it, Link! We defeated the beast! You can wake up now. Please wake up!” I sobbed. “Come on, Link! I couldn’t live without you in my life! I… I love you! And I always have! I just buried it so no one would know I fell for a senior my sophomore year!”

His eyelids fluttered, and he woke up slightly. He tried to sit up, so I held him up. He grabbed my shirt, and tried to pull me closer. He couldn’t, so I leaned closer, when he kissed me! I kissed back, obviously. I pulled away and picked him and his sword up,and carried him outside to the Princess.

“Oh no! Is… is he dead?” The Princess asked, looking on the verge of tears.

“He has a pulse, but a weak one at that. Is there anything you can do for him?” I responded, tears rolling down my cheeks.

“Hold on… Mipha! Can you come here?” Zelda called. A Zora woman, whom I presumed to be Mipha walked up.

“Yes, my princess?”

“Can you heal Link?”

Mipha surveyed the damage, then looked at the Princess. “I should be able to.”

“Please.”

Mipha put her hand above Link’s forehead, and a blue light shone under her hand. She pulled the arrow out of his head, and waved her light over the wound for about a minute. 

“Link, can you hear me? Nod if you can.” 

We waited in suspense for about ten seconds as Link stayed still in my arms. He then nodded, and we all sighed in relief. “Charlie, why don’t you set him down, and we’ll see if he can walk,” the Princess told me. I followed orders, and set him on his feet. He opened his eyes, and swayed for a moment. Then, before any of us grabbed him, he stabilized. 

“Link, do you think you can walk?” I asked. He nodded. 

“Thank you guys so much for destroying the beast. Come back here tomorrow, okay?” The Princess asked.

“We will be here,” I said as me and Link both dropped down to one knee. We stood up and walked home.

“Why are you bloody?” My mom asked as I walked inside the house.

“It’s fake blood, from theater,” I lied.

“Oh. Okay. You’re grounded, FYI.”

“Wait, why?”

“You were out past dark! You have a curfew, I expect you to abide by it!”

“Wait, does this mean I can’t go out tomorrow?”

“Yes.”

“But you can’t do that! I have summons to the castle tomorrow!” I blurted out. It was too late. 

“Wait, why do you have summons to the castle?”

I thought it over quickly, and decided to tell the truth. “Truth is, I wasn’t at theater club. I was…”

“Don’t tell me you were  _ training  _ with Link, and that you just fought the beast…” My dad said.

“That’s… exactly what happened.”

“Well, at least you’re okay. I hope you knew the risks going into this, Charlie,” my mom said as she hugged me.

“I did know the risks, Mom. Many soldiers died today in a feat of bravery. Link was there, too. He could have protected me. I thought he was going to have to as well.”

“Wait, he didn’t have to?” Mom asked.

“No. I had to protect  _ him. _ He almost died, Mom. He didn’t, but he knew the risks of joining the army.” 

“Okay, well at least he’s okay. You can go to the castle tomorrow, but after that, you can’t leave the house except for school, for at least a week. We’ll see how it goes from there,” my dad said.

The next day, I walked to Link’s house, and from there we walked to the castle together.

Princess Zelda was waiting outside, and we kneeled in front of her. Most of Castle Town was waiting as well, watching the courtyard.

“I have heard of your feat, Charlie. And yours, Link, as well as everything else you do for me. In honor of these events, I bestow upon both of you the Medal Of Honor.”

Her servant walked up with two triangular medals with a triangular hole in the middle, one on a blue ribbon, one on a green one. She put the blue one on my neck, and the green one on Link’s.

“Thank you, Princess.” I say.

Link stays as silent as ever.

“I have one last thing for you, Charlie. I would like you to join our kingdom’s army.” The Princess said.

I had an internal squeal of happiness. “I would love to. I will start after my school year’s over.”

“I await your enlistment. You are released.”

I took Link’s hand, and we walked back home.

“You know, Link, I always worshipped the soldiers of the army, but I never thought about or could even begin to _conceive_ the stuff they have to endure.”

“It’s a lot. That wasn’t my first brush with death.” Link said. I was amazed he spoke, but made no remark, as I knew that was hard for him to say. I noticed silent tears rolling down his face as his blond ponytail waved in the wind.

“Don’t worry; now I’ll be there to save you.” I responded. I then pulled him into a hug. It was just us then, Link crying on my shoulder as I hugged him, wondering why I haven’t done this before.

That experience… It made me realize what the people who keep us safe endure to make sure we  _ stay _ safe. I never expected to fight a beast like that… I never expected to have to save my best friend… but no one can expect that. Now, I’m a fully fledged warrior for our kingdom, Hyrule. Link and I are married, and we have two beautiful kids; A boy and a girl; Link Jr. and Zelda. Link still hasn’t spoken much since we got married, but he managed to tell me that he’s silent because he feels it’s necessary to stay strong, to silently bear any burden that comes his way. He feels that, to be a hero, he has to hide any pain he may feel. But that’s the thing. Not all heroes hide their pain from the world. Our pain is what makes us human. Anyone can be a hero. Just look inside yourself, and you can find the strength to become a hero.


End file.
